8.3 Samian cups in Essex: a distinctive regional trend?

One unforeseen aspect to emerge from the project has been the observation that samian cup forms are very strongly represented in the Essex region, especially at rural sites, to a degree not seen elsewhere. There is no certain explanation for this trend, though it may be an expression of a (Trinovantian?) cultural preference for forms that may well have been used as individual drinking vessels.

Chart 17 suggests that, on average, cups form around 25% of samian assemblages from rural sites, while at smaller centres (cf. Chart 16) the equivalent proportion is c. 24%. Tables 53 and 54 below show that proportions of samian cups from the smaller centre at Elms Farm, Essex, are broadly consistent with the overall average for this type of site. However, Tables 53 and 54 also show that proportions formed by cups at the rural sites at Felsted, Rayne and Tendring are comparatively high compared to the average for this type of site (Willis 1999a; Smoothy 1989; Cheer 1989; Willis 1999e).

Cups were conspicuous among the early samian from The Star and Fleece Hotel site, Kelvedon, on the eastern outskirts of the Roman 'Small Town' adjacent to the main Roman road. Fawcett notes that among the South Gaulish (La Graufesenque) samian from the site the 'dominant form is the Drag. 27 cup' (Fawcett 2001, 108). At the rural site at the Old Sugar Beet Works, Felsted, 1998, the heavy emphasis towards cups contrasts with an absence of other common forms (such as the Drag 18) among the South Gaulish samian. The small size of this sample is perhaps a factor; on the other hand the only other South Gaulish form present is a Déch. 67 beaker, which, while not a rare form, is a comparatively infrequent site find even at military and urban sites of the period (see database), so the presence of this further potential drinking vessel is curious.

At Rivenhall villa Rodwell stated that, 'There is a marked upturn in the quantity of Hadrianic [samian] wares. Particularly noticeable is the high proportion of small cups, form 33, of Hadrianic and earlier Antonine date: they comprise more than 30% of the 2nd century wares' (Rodwell 1993, 73). Observing that at both the villa site at Rivenhall and at Chelmsford the cup form within assemblages was exclusively represented by samian vessels, Going commented that, 'It is odd that cup forms, for which there appears to have been a constant, if low, demand, were so ill-represented in the ceramic repertoires of the various local potteries' (1993, 70).

Finally, some 732 samian vessels identifiable to form are represented from Fingringhoe Wick (on the Colne below Colchester) among the collections in the Colchester and Essex Museum (Willis 1986). The items are unstratified, collected, material from the site of the military installation and later 'villa' occupations. Among this material, cups account for 28.3% of the samian, a higher proportion than appears normal for either military or rural sites (cf. Charts 13 and 17).

Table 53: The representation of cup forms among some South Gaulish samian collections from Essex

Table 54: The representation of cup forms among some Central Gaulish samian collections from Essex

(* and Colchester samian)

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